Kombo

Kombo launched with a deliberately narrow MVP: a unified API covering only the three most-requested HR platforms their initial customers needed. ​​‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌Rather than building connectors for dozens of systems, they shipped integrations with just Workday, SuccessFactors, and BambooHR in their first release—taking roughly four months from concept to launch. They deliberately excluded advanced features like real-time webhooks and custom field mapping, betting that basic data synchronization would validate the core value proposition first. This stripped-down approach paid immediate dividends. Within weeks, their first three customers—mid-market recruiting platforms—began actively using the API in production. The speed of validation came from focusing engineering effort purely on connector reliability rather than feature breadth. Early traction with these customers proved the market would pay for unified integrations, which justified expanding their connector library. By constraining scope aggressively, Kombo avoided the trap of building features nobody needed while establishing product-market fit signals that attracted their Series A investors.